Nearing All-Star weekend, Michelle Beadle is surveying the landscape of the current NBA season. It is prior to the trade deadline, so the ripple effects of Kevin Durant heading to the desert and the new look Los Angeles Lakers have yet to impact the league, but Beadle reveals she is standing strong in the powers of Stephen Curry.
In this exclusive conversation with The Source, Beadle talks about her Run it Back show, makes her NBA Finals pick, reflects on LeBron James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and more. Run it Back airs Monday-Wednesday at 10 am ET / 7 am PT on FanDuel TV, with full episodes going live on YouTube afterward
The SOURCE: What drew you into wanting to be a part of Run it Back with FanDuel?
Michelle Beadle: You know, I had not talked about the NBA, or at least not in a professional capacity, for about two-plus years at that point. I knew I missed it. I was doing a podcast and we covered everything, but I missed just talking hoops with other people that love it. This opportunity came up, and I was watching the LeBetards of the world, and Pat McAfee and these gambling entities are coming in, and it’s just like, holy cow. They’re getting these monster opportunities, and this seems like such a great opportunity to be able to do that. I thought, okay, well, I got lucky. I’d had a couple of conversations with Shams [Charania] to see what he was thinking, and it worked out. Chandler [Parsons] I had obviously known from his playing days, and Eddie [Gonzalez] has been the most pleasant surprise in the whole thing. It worked out, and that’s great because it doesn’t always work out.
You mentioned the evolved sports world and now gambling entities. How has your experience been?
I’m 47 years old and been doing this for 20 years now. I remember just not even that long ago like you couldn’t even utter anything about the line or the over-under. I mean, it was just taboo. It is crazy how quickly the world has changed. I love it. You know, I still live in a state, unfortunately, that’s behind the times in a lot of ways, but I learn every day. I made no bones about the fact that I’m not a gambler by nature. So I’ve learned so much in such a short period of time. And it’s crazy amounts of money. Everything has blown up so much, and what business doesn’t want growth?
For sure. I was thinking about when I was looking at the ticket that hit, which LeBron had a triple-double, Jokic had a triple-double, and LaMelo had a triple-double. And just seeing something as simple as that and somebody just threw $50 on it and walks away with 40 grand. I’m like why didn’t I think of that?
I think that every week now, we’re getting these crazy seven-leg parlays and, I mean, these are the types of stupid things I think about when I’m just sitting on my couch. Why didn’t I think to put $10 on that and win 150 grand? It is, it’s life-changing. Some of these stories are life-changing.
You’re with FanDuel now but have been across various places in your career. This is still a male-dominated industry. How does it feel to be in this space now as opposed to when you first started?
It’s always tricky to answer this because it’s, it’s obviously, it’s an uphill battle for all types of marginalized groups. And in this business, it happens to be women. But because I didn’t set out to do any of television or anything remotely related to media, I wasn’t really aware. All I had going in was sort of my own consumption of television, and I don’t think I ever really paid that much attention. And it wasn’t until I got into that world where I realized, like, oh, there aren’t a ton of us doing anything other than sideline reporting, which is fine. But for me, that just wasn’t enough. I just felt like we should be doing so much more.
I will say it is great to look across the landscape and see so many more women in studio hosting positions. Not just in front of cameras but behind the cameras. I always say we need more women in the executive spots because, at the end of the day, that’s where all the decisions are being made. It’s great to see in the coaching staff, and I can honestly say in 20 years, it is much, much more different than it was when I first started.
Can we talk hoops for a second? How did you feel to see LeBron passing Kareem’s scoring record?
It’s crazy. I will never take away from LeBron James’ basketball career. I would be an idiot to do so. So it is insane to me that a record that has stood for decades, almost as long as I’ve been on the planet, is now broken. There was a time we were like, well, if he gets there, and that turned into, is it going to be Saturday?! It’s a testament to his longevity and, you know, the assist record too. As he moves up these charts, it kind of points to this well-rounded career that he’s had. I’m not a person that gets super stoked about records, mainly because my brain doesn’t process things like that. I”m always admiring those who have these just Spitfire computer brains that can pick an exact date. When it’s all said and done, it will always be part of the long list of reasons why we’re going to continue to have the MJ versus LeBron versus Kareem. That argument will go on until we all die. And then some, this will be just one more huge component of why people will argue for LeBron James as the GOAT.
We have a tight MVP raise, but it seems like we always do. If you were to vote today, who would get your vote?
Right at this moment, for me, it’s between Embiid and Jokic. I know there’s the argument for the fatigue involved with Jokic, but it’s so hard to argue against what he does on the floor. Having been in San Antonio and a San Antonio fan for so long, the fundamental quiet with which he kind of plays is very Tim Duncan-esque in that regard. There’s no sexiness to it. I mean, he dresses a hell of a lot better than Timmy every day, that’s for sure. But he’s fantastic to watch. I feel like if I played I would wanna play with him. But there is part of me that thinks Embiid was poking the bear by not having him as a starter. He’s been very vocal about his desire to win this award, and he does everything he can. And when they played head-to-head the other night, that should count if it comes down to a close call at the end of the season.
That’s where I leaned my hat this season, team success. As much as I hate the entire franchise, I kind of lean Jason Tatum.
For sure, I feel like you take him away, they’re not who they are obviously right now. I don’t think they’re also bottom feeders, but I feel like if you take Jokic away, they’re a lottery team. You can claim Devin Booker. Without him, holey toilet.
On another individual idea – all the 30 teams are playing in the league on one night. You are given a ticket by the league to sit courtside and watch one player. Who is your pick?
Ja Morant. He’s an acrobat. First of all, every muscle in my core, or lack thereof, is just jealous because you’re just thinking like, oh my God. But it’s also his confidence slash cockiness of him and the trickle-down effect it has had on the entire team. I’m here for all of it, and I want them to succeed because you know how it is, if you’re cocky and don’t do anything, we start laughing at you. But if you’re cocky and you pull this off, oh, what a story. So I, I’m, I’m here for John Morant. I would go to that game in a second.
If the Fan Duel team walked up to you today with a thousand dollars free bet to put on a futures wager, who are the two teams that you have a meeting in the NBA Finals?
Warriors, Celtics.
You’re believing in that Warriors pedigree, right?
Yeah, I am. The Warriors, to me, I think we’re about to get into that scary window where they just sort of like are the cats playing with yarn, and they’re gonna turn it on. I also think Steph Curry, it’s the baby face. It throws us off. Some guys have mean faces, and we can see them thinking about being competitive and wanting to crush. He comes in with such a smile, and meanwhile, he wants to kill everybody.
